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How to perform disk validation against a Single/Selected LUNs in Windows clustering ??

Question

I have a scenario here where I should need to perform a disk validation(only disk, not other tests) against newly added LUNs in windows cluster(which are in available storage) without taking existing LUN or SQL services Offline. When I check in failover
cluster manager, I don't see any options like running validation check against a single LUN. Can someone please guide on this. Appreciate your time and help on this. Didn't get accurate information on googling.

Answers

The "Single LUN" validation option is not available in Windows 2008R2 SP1. This validation option is only available in Windows 2012.

To validate a single LUN in Windows 2008, you would need to first remove it from the Service/Application group and then run cluster validation. During the Validation wizard, you would then choose to "Leave applications online" so validation only tests the
disks in the Available Storage group or disks that aren't part of the cluster.

Single LUN: The complete set of tests, where you run the storage tests on only one LUN. The LUN might be a small LUN that you set aside for testing purposes, or the witness disk (if your cluster uses a witness disk). This validates the
storage subsystem, but not specifically each individual LUN or disk. You can run these validation tests without causing downtime to your clustered services or applications.

Omit storage tests: The system configuration, inventory, and network tests, but not the storage tests. You can run these validation tests without causing downtime to your clustered services or applications.

None: No validation tests are needed.

Greetings, Robert Smit Follow me @clustermvp http://robertsmit.wordpress.com/ “Please click "Vote As Helpful" if it is helpful for you and Proposed As Answer” Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you

The "Single LUN" validation option is not available in Windows 2008R2 SP1. This validation option is only available in Windows 2012.

To validate a single LUN in Windows 2008, you would need to first remove it from the Service/Application group and then run cluster validation. During the Validation wizard, you would then choose to "Leave applications online" so validation only tests the
disks in the Available Storage group or disks that aren't part of the cluster.

Would another option for running Cluster Validation Test (CVT) on a single CSV in 2008 R2 Hyper-V be to actually leave all the CSVs you DON'T want storage tests to run on, in an online state because apparently according to article below there are safety
mechanisms built-in that don't allow storage tests to run against online disk resources?

The reason why I ask this question is because every time we have run CVT recently we have lost the partition of a random CSV. We have already applied KB2531907. But we do currently have a persistent reservation on the witness disk. We are planning to remove
this soon. I am extremely reluctant about running CVT now and am still very wary of leaving CSVs online and selecting storage tests without some real re-assurance of it not damaging the GPT of a CSV.

When you say, first remove the LUN/CSV from the Service/Application group, what exactly do you mean? Where do you do this? In Failover Cluster Manager? What would the steps be?

Bear in mind we want to exclude live production CSVs from the storage tests. We can arrange for downtime of these, just want to make sure they are totally safe from the potentially destructive storage tests run by the Cluster Validation Tool like we have
experienced in the past.

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